Spot Leukaemia

Throughout our 50th year as a charity, we are running our Spot Leukaemia Campaign to help raise awareness of Leukaemia.

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Can you Spot Leukaemia?

Leukaemia patients are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed by an emergency route compared to the average for all cancer patients (37% vs 22%).

Many people aren’t aware of the signs and symptoms of a leukaemia until they or someone they know are affected. This means that people often delay in visiting their GP.

Quite often, due to the vagueness of the symptoms and relative rarity of leukaemia, people are misdiagnosed by their GP or attend several times before diagnosis. This means that there is a delay at primary healthcare.

We want to change this by raising awareness of the signs and symptoms and helping people to Spot Leukaemia. Early diagnosis saves lives.

What we’re doing to help you to Spot Leukaemia?

Last September, our Spot Leukaemia campaign returned and reached over 100 million people during Blood Cancer Awareness Month. But why should we restrict our efforts to a single month? This time we will be campaigning all year long in the hope to reach even more people, by continuing to spread awareness of the cluster of symptoms that could indicate a blood cancer.

This year, we plan to:

Raise awareness online and within the media of the signs and symptoms of leukaemia, educating the public so they know what to look out for.

Highlight key issues faced by blood cancer patients across social media. This will help to raise awareness of the everyday problems faced by leukaemia patients and will give patients and carers a chance to share and learn tips from others.

Share patient stories, helping others who are going through the same diagnosis.

Release in-depth articles and videos about the main symptoms of leukaemia. This will focus on bringing clarity to particular symptoms that often precede a blood cancer diagnosis, as it is often the vagueness of leukaemia symptoms that can lead to an initial misdiagnosis or stop people from visiting their GP.

Cap off the campaign with a flourish. During Blood Cancer Awareness Month in September, we will be upping the ante with some of our biggest awareness events yet. So, watch this Space!

Spot the signs and symptoms of leukaemia

Leukaemia can be hard to spot because the signs and symptoms are common to other unrelated illnesses. Knowing what to look out for could help you make the decision to visit your GP sooner. Early diagnosis saves lives.

The six most common symptoms experienced by all leukaemia patients prior to diagnosis are:

Go spotty and host a fundraising event

Use this year as an opportunity to hold your very own fundraiser in aid of Leukaemia Care, helping us to raise awareness of leukaemia and its signs and symptoms. From spotty bake sales to a spotty pub quizzes, there are lots of ways to get family and friends involved. You can find some of our fundraising ideas here.

Read some #SpotLeukaemia stories

If you have any further questions about Spot Leukaemia then you can contact our Campaigns and Advocacy team. They are available Monday to Friday from 9:00am – 5:30pm. If you would like to speak to them, you can: